For American Officials, Pizza Sauce Is a Vegetable

Pushed by frozen food giants, American lawmakers have decided that pizza, french fries and other starchy foods will not be banned from elementary school cafeteria menus. The elected officials even decided that the tomato sauce that covers pizza can continue to be counted as a vegetable for school children. These measures, inserted into the Department of Agriculture’s annual public finances, are responsible for, among other things, monitoring what American students are finding on their plates.

The American Frozen Food Institute, a pressure group, hailed the decision as it “recognizes the significant amounts of potassium, fiber and vitamins A and C provided by tomato paste.” The measure, which could be approved by Congress this week, shot down a proposal from the Obama administration attempting to make food served to children healthier.

The Department of Agriculture hoped to increase the amount of sauce on pizza so that it would continue to be considered a vegetable; otherwise, it risks virtually disappearing from menus. Irritated, the food-processing industry retorted that such a measure would create extra costs and would be a “burden” because they would have to recalibrate pizza size.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.5 million children, representing 17 percent of Americans ages 2 to 19, are obese.